汽車營銷類外文文獻翻譯、英文翻譯汽車行業(yè)渠道的轉變

1、原文Changing Channels In The Automotive Industry: TheFuture of Automotive Marketing and DistributionWho will be the winners and losers in the revolution that is radically reshaping the marketing, distribution and selling of automobiles? Will the vehicle manufacturers and their franchised-dealer networ

2、ks be able to overcome years of inertia and complacency to pioneer and execute new concepts that will strengthen and extend the value of their brands? Or will nimbler, more imaginative retailers or software companies get there first?The transformation of the business of selling cars and trucks is ha

3、ppening before our eyes at an incredible pace - promising to change forever an industry that has long been noted for its high costs, poor service and extremely unpleasant selling process. Auto manufacturers have competed fiercely among themselves to drive out cost and meet consumer needs for cheaper

4、 and better cars and trucks. Now the survivors face new threats from outside the industry that might thwart their renewed interest in building strong, lasting relationships with their customers.Entrepreneurs have dissected the cost-value equation and come up with new retail concepts. Their stories h

5、ave been persuasive enough to attract hundreds of millions of dollars in public equity investment and persuade dozens of fiercely independent car dealers to sell out. Internet technology has lowered entry barriers for other entrepreneurswith new ideas about helping customers find, evaluate and buy n

6、ew vehicles. These patterns are consistent with revolutions in other consumer durables markets that effectively transferred market power from manufacturers to retailers.Consumers are the only clear winners in this battle. While we are not sure which vehicle manufacturers will survive, we are confide

7、nt that winning will require a better understanding of the life-cycle value equations of both cars and buyers, and the development of innovative strategies to capture that value. FORCES OF CHANGEFrom the days of Henry Fords production line, the automobile industry has been based on a supply-push phi

8、losophy - a strong bias toward filling the factories to cover high fixed costs.Dealer networks were created as logical extensions of the supply-push model. The networks were designed to hold inventory, leverage private capital (without threatening the manufacturers control) and service and support w

9、hat was then a less reliable and more maintenance-intensive product. Those networks generally were built around entrepreneursfocused on a defined geographic area, selling one or at most two brands.Despite its longevity, the traditional dealer channel leaves many people unhappy.High customer acquisit

10、ion costs motivate dealers to convert store traffic to sales using aggressive tactics that extract differential margins based on customers willingness to pay. Frequent well-publicized rebates have taught buyers to mistrust sticker prices and negotiate from cost up, rather than sticker down. As a res

11、ult, dealers often find themselves competing not against another brand, but against a same-make dealer across town. This acute competition has almost bid away dealer profit on the sale of new passenger cars in the United States (with some profits still available on sales of trucks, sport utility veh

12、icles and luxury cars).Shrinking dealer margins do not translate into happy customers: Most customers (approximately four out of five) dislike the purchase process, and many still come away feeling cheated and mistreated. This strong antipathy is largely responsible for the rapid growth of Internet-

13、based services that offer alternative means of gathering information on cars, soliciting price quotes and, in some cases, conducting transactions.SURFING THE NET FOR PROFITSObviously the Internet is a major enabler of change in auto distribution. Many of the most important auto industry innovators t

14、oday are developing Web-based services, leading some to predict that the most important automotive company of the next century will be a software-based company. Republic Industries, for instance, expects sales to reach $1 billion on the World Wide Web by the year 2000. Estimates vary, but some studi

15、es have shown that with some cars, as many as 40 percent of customers gather information from the Internet. A smaller but growing percentage of customers demonstrate what is called shopping behavior, or soliciting price quotations and availability information prior to the actual purchase.The dramati

16、c growth and power of Internet technology have greatly reduced the cost of obtaining information on features, price and availability. Consequently, customers are better equipped to extract what they want from dealerships. One of the pioneers of Internet marketing, A Inc., is working to speed respons

17、e time from its participating dealers because it has learned that a staggeringly high proportion of its customers - 64 percent - buy within 24 hours of using its service to get price and availability quotes. The Internet offers new and better ways to perform many sales and marketing functions and ma

18、kes it possible for manufacturers to have more and richer two-way communications directly with consumers. It has also provided, for the rest time, the capability for channel marketing on a national or even international scale, attacking further the value of the traditional, geographically depend cha

19、nnel.DEALERS STILL PART OF EQUATIONNo one is suggesting, though, that auto dealers will disappear. Ironically, changes in cars and trucks themselves are making dealers more important. Consumershave more choices of brands and models than ever before. Improved durability and reliability and faster des

20、ign cycles have narrowed the differences among competing products in the same category. Brand loyalty increasingly derives not from the product itself but from the total purchase and ownership experience. Numerous studies show that customer satisfaction has become a much more critical competitive di

21、fferentiator and a greater influence on repurchase loyalty than the car itself. And it is the dealer that controls these levers today. (See Exhibit II.) This explains the intense efforts many vehicle manufacturers have made to set standards for, measure and even base some dealer compensation on cust

22、omer satisfaction scores.As a result of the high-cost, low-satisfaction proposition provided by the traditional dealer channel in general, many players have recently moved to capitalize on opportunities afforded by improving the channel-value equation. Entrepreneurs with access to public capital hav

23、e strategic designs to modernize auto distribution. Six dealer groups in the United Stateswent public in 1996-7. Collectively they soared past the $4 billion mark in revenue in 1997, up by more than 30 percent from 1996, with most of the growth coming from additional acquisitions of existing dealers

24、.The most prominent new automotive industry entrepreneur in the United States is H. Wayne Huizenga, chairman of Republic Industries. Mr. Huizenga has a proven track record as an innovator who has revolutionized the waste disposal and video rental industries. Republic owns the nations largest group o

25、f franchised automotive dealerships, operates the AutoNation USA used-vehicle megastore chain and owns and operates several car rental businesses. Republic is currently on an extraordinary acquisition campaign for new-car business dealerships. Even though Republic has almost single-handedly doubled

26、the market price for dealerships, it does not appear to be slowing down.Nonetheless,manufacturers seem to be following, not leading, the revolution. Many are still being pushed or kicked along the path of change. There are real questions whether their late - and in some cases half-hearted - response

27、swill be enough to protect the traditional position of the vehicle manufacturer as the caller of shots in the auto industry.VISION FOR THE FUTURENow that we see serious cracks in the walls protecting the traditional automotive distribution model, what will the future bring? Both the underlying drive

28、rs of change in automotive retailing and the trends already under way help answer that question. In addition, it is helpful to compare the automobile industry with other industries that have experienced distribution-channel evolution and look at the lessons they learned.Most consumer-durable industr

29、ies have undergone substantial distribution-channel evolution resulting from changes in economics, regulations or technologies. Each one has unique circumstances, but we can see three relatively common, distinct stages in these channel restructurings:Stage One: This is marked by major improvements i

30、n value delivered, mostly reductions in cost. Usually the cost reductions stem from consolidation and rationalization in the channel as better concepts or bigger players drive out marginal or small players. The bigger players use their cost advantageto reduce prices and often to improve service, var

31、iety and convenience.Stage Two: Here channel evolution is focused on meeting the needs of specific customer segments. Channel functions are unbundled and restructured into more efficient or more appealing formats for defined groups of customers. Customer value is further enhanced through lower price

32、s, better service or greater variety.Stage Three: This brings dramatic new paradigms not just for distribution but for the entire value chain. Full-service leasing (power by the hour) in the heavy-duty-truck market is an example of this type of game-changing concept.We anticipate five major changes

33、in future automobile distribution patterns and practices:FORMING A STRATEGIC RESPONSEGiven this view of the future, what should a manufacturer or major channel player do? Appropriate responses are to some extent situation-dependent, of course, but we believe the three stages of channel evolution obs

34、erved in other industries provide valuable insight into what is and will be required to prevail in the automotive industry.Accordingly, we recommend the following strategic responsesconsistent with the three stages of channel evolution and the future automotive distribution vision described above:Ag

35、gressively and systematically pursue functional improvement beyond the factory gate. The most prominent opportunity is cost.Develop a vision of a desired end-game distribution channel strategy and begin making progress toward that vision, taking care to achieve consistency between the long-term visi

36、on and short-term functional improvement agendas.Build the means to create and capture much more of the downstream value associated with the automobile - and, in so doing, strive to innovate game-changing approaches to the business.FUNCTIONAL IMPROVEMENTSIn the conventional dealer networks, tremendo

37、us improvement opportunities exist along two basic functional paths: reducing costs and raising customer satisfaction. Most manufacturers and many large channel players are jumping at these opportunities, given their magnitude. However, these players tend to select a limited number of programs, and

38、they typically concentrate on single functional improvements independently or on a single functional path.A better approach is to addresssystematically the whole realm of possibilities with an integrated view of benefits within and across specific functions. This is not easy. Even programs with mode

39、rate scope and ambition typically require reforming entrenched business philosophies; coordinating several organizational groups with disparate incentives; managing complex and imposing legalities, and facing up to dealers resistant to change. But manufacturers must recognize that new players unencu

40、mbered by these constraints are raising the bar and traditional players must reach higher or fall behind.To date, Republic has focused primarily on pursuing the benefits of consolidation typical in the first stage of retail channel evolution. But some of its actions suggest the potential for truly g

41、ame-changing retail evolution. When channel players, as opposed to manufacturers, are the winners in retail evolution, most often the one that leads in the first stage is the one that leads in other stages and reaps substantial benefits. Republic could be the first in the automotive industry to crea

42、te an independent retail brand that actually owns the customer.譯文：汽車行業(yè)渠道的轉變：未來的汽車銷售和流通誰將成為贏家？誰能徹底重塑銷售、分銷和銷售為一體的汽車?他們的汽車制造商網(wǎng)絡能夠克服慣性和驕傲自滿的先驅和執(zhí)行新觀念，加強和擴大品牌價值的嗎?或者，更富于想象力的零售商將nimbler 或軟件公司先到那兒?變革的商業(yè)銷售轎車和卡車在我們眼前發(fā)生在一個令人難以置信的速度承諾永遠改變，長期以來一直使這個行業(yè)中付出很高的代價，可憐的服務和令人不快的銷售過程。汽車制造商之間的激烈競爭，使自己所需費用和滿足消費者又便宜又好汽車和卡車。

43、現(xiàn)在這個幸存者面對新的威脅來自國外的行業(yè)，可能會阻止他們的興趣，以及持久良好的客戶關系。企業(yè)家們想出了新的零售觀念。他們的故事已經(jīng)有說服力的足夠吸引了數(shù)億美元的公共股權投資和說服數(shù)十種完全不賣了汽車經(jīng)銷商?；ヂ?lián)網(wǎng)技術已經(jīng)降低了進入壁壘和其它企業(yè)家?guī)椭蛻魧ふ倚碌目捶?，評估和買新車。這些模式符合其他耐用消費品市場的革命力量，有效轉移到零售商從制造商的市場。消費者是唯一沒有加入到這次戰(zhàn)斗中的成員。雖然我們不能肯定哪個汽車制造商能生存，我們堅信勝利將需要一個更好的理解這個定義值方程的汽車和買家，開發(fā)創(chuàng)新的策略。改變的力量亨利福特生產(chǎn)線的發(fā)展是基于“ supply-push ”的理念一一強烈傾向“填

44、工廠”涵蓋高的固定成本。經(jīng)銷商網(wǎng)絡的邏輯延伸，創(chuàng)建了“supply-push ”模式。這個網(wǎng)絡是用來持有存貨， 利用私人資本（ 不威脅到制造商控制） 、 服務和支持的內(nèi)容是一個更可靠、更適合大眾的產(chǎn)品。這些網(wǎng)絡一般都是圍繞企業(yè)家集中在一個定義地域，賣一或兩名品牌。盡管它的壽命很短，傳統(tǒng)的經(jīng)銷商渠道使很多人不快樂。獲取客戶的成本很高， 激勵經(jīng)銷商儲存流量轉換使用咄咄逼人的銷售策略，基于微分邊緣提取顧客愿意支付。頻繁的構架回扣所教導的買家，不信任貼紙價格和談判，而不是從成本的貼紙。因此， 經(jīng)銷商經(jīng)常發(fā)現(xiàn)他們的競爭對手不反對另一個品牌，但是對一個經(jīng)銷商采取敵對的態(tài)度。這種激烈的競爭幾乎已經(jīng)使投標商獲

45、利，并出售新轎車。繼續(xù)發(fā)售，有意購買者請在銷售的卡車、運動型多用途車和豪華車。萎縮的經(jīng)銷商利潤不轉化為快樂的顧客：大多數(shù)顧客（ 大約五分之四的） 不喜歡購買過程中，許多人還是離開感覺到欺騙和虐待。這種強烈的反感主要是為快速增長的互聯(lián)網(wǎng)服務所提供可供選擇的方式收集資料，對汽車， 報價及價格，在某些情況下，進行交易。在網(wǎng)上沖浪的利潤因特網(wǎng)在汽車分銷中是一個主要的明顯變化的角色。許多最重要的汽車產(chǎn)業(yè)發(fā)展網(wǎng)絡服務的創(chuàng)新者的今天，導致了一些人預測，最重要的汽車公司將在下個世紀的軟件公司。共和國行業(yè)，例如，預期銷售額達到10 億美元在萬維網(wǎng)上。估計有很多，但一些研究表明一些汽車，多達40%的客戶從互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上

46、收集信息。一個較小，但越來越多的客戶展示所謂的購物行為，或招攬價格和可用性信息之前的實際購買。這個引人注目的成長與網(wǎng)路科技的力量已經(jīng)大大降低了成本獲取信息的特點，在價格和可用性。因此，客戶更好地提取他們想要的東西從經(jīng)銷商。一個先鋒的網(wǎng)絡營銷，A 有限公司是致力于速度響應時間從它的參與，因為它已經(jīng)得知，經(jīng)銷商有驚人比例過高，它的64%客戶買的24 小時內(nèi)使用它的服務得到的價格和可用性?；ヂ?lián)網(wǎng)提供了新的和更好的方法來進行銷售和營銷功能， 使得制造商已經(jīng)越來越富裕的雙向通信與客戶直接。它也提供了，剩下的時間，對渠道銷售全國乃至國際規(guī)模，攻擊進一步的價值取決于傳統(tǒng)，地理 頻道。經(jīng)銷商還是部分的方程盡管沒有人說，但汽車經(jīng)銷商終會消失。具有諷刺意味的是，改變自己的轎車和卡車正在經(jīng)銷商更為重要。消費者有了更多的選擇的品牌和型號比以往任何時候都多。改進的耐久性與可靠性和更快的設計周期已經(jīng)縮小了與之競爭的產(chǎn)品